DRESS REFORM : 



TT 565 
.H3 
Copy 1 



ITS 



PHYSIOLOGICAL AND MORAL BEARINGS. 



A LECTURE 

Delivered at the Hall of the Young Men's Christian Association, 
Washington City, February 10, 1862. 



BY \f 



ELLEN BEARD HARMAN. 



■♦♦■»■ 






NEW YORK: 

DAY1ES & KENT, PRINTERS, 

No. 183 WILLIAM STREET. 

1862. 






_ 



6 



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DRESS REFORM: 



ITS 



PHYSIOLOGICAL AND MORAL BEARINGS. 



A LECTURE 

Delivered at the Hall op the Young Men's Christian Association, 
Washington City, February 10, 1862. 



y V 

ELLEK BEARD HARMAN. 



■♦■»♦- 



NEW YORK: 

DAVIES & KENT, PRINTERS, 

No. 183 WILLIAM STEEET. 

1862. 

C *a 

<— jL_s ^ ^K 



\\ 5 G> 5 









Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S62, by 

E. T. TEALL, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern Distru 

of New York. 



2 / 9- / 2- 



Davies &, Kent, 
STEREOTYPED a\[> EutOTROTYPKBS, 

ltv3 WUliam-st.i X. Y. 



ib-W 




^ \\\-* 



DRESS REFORM. 



■» * »■ 



It would, perhaps, seem idle and presumptuous to present 
for serious consideration a subject which has never been 
thought of save in the light of fashion, with a view to im- 
provement, as we would other things which pertain to our 
well-being, and doubly so here in the capital of the nation, 
where are congregated its style and ostentation ; where pride 
vies with pride ; where wealth is the fulcrum on which rests 
political precedence and power, and the gloss and cut of the 
dress is made an indication of its height ; here, where a trifling 
accident or incident may become law in fashion. An ex- 
British Minister's wife appears on your streets on a rainy day, 
and, lifting her dress to clear the crossings, reveals a scarlet 
skirt, whereupon a nation of women sport the " Balmoral" in 
weather fair or foul. It would, I say, seem almost presump- 
tuous for one in this great emporium of fashion to attempt to 
gain the attention of the public ear, when it is filled with the 
praise and plaudits of her panorama on exhibition in your 
streets and in your levees. 

Yet have I a word to offer, and I prefer to say it here. 
When men would storm a fortress, they do not retreat to the 
wilderness to do it ; neither would I choose a place of humbler 
note to demolish the fortifications of false pride which have 
ever stood a barrier to the best interests of society. 

I ask you, as candid men and women, desiring to receive 
truth or refute error, as the case may be, to hear me, unbiased 
by custom, and then judge of the merits of the question as 
you would were any other subject presented to you in a new 
light. Every reform has had to work its way up through 






4 PRESS REFORM. 

old-time prejudice and error. Thus has it ever been since the 
gentle Nazarene, 'mid persecution, taught " good-will to men" 
— thus will it ever be so long as ignorance, and folly, and de- 
ceit stand in the places where knowledge, and wisdom, and 
truth should rule in the public mind — so long, in short, as 
there remains a wrong to be righted. 

The cause I advocate is peculiarly the object of popular 
prejudice; for the law of fashion, though disapproved in the 
abstract by voice and pen throughout the enlightened parts 
of the world, has yet a power over the people than which, 
perhaps, none is greater or more injurious in its results. 

The American people, independent to an unparalleled de- 
gree, are yet the willing dupes of false pride in the externals 
of life ; they seek pleasure too much in the scum of existence 
instead of gathering pearls in its clearer depths. They go 
with the tide as it ebbs and flows through the influence of 
foreign folly. Poverty yields up her last cent; the mind is 
robbed of its precious treasures of culture ; the higher intui- 
tions are set aside ; they turn night into day, eat when they 
are not hungry, drink when they are not thirsty, flatter when 
they would be sincere; and, in short, abuse human nature 
generally to gratify false pride ! 

Especially is this true in regard to dressing. Who ever 
thinks of habiting himself or herself in any but the prescribed 
mode ? and who ever raises a question whether this is in all 
or indeed in any, respects correct? Or who, if forced b] 
their better judgment to demur against it, dare do so in act: 
True, the press and the people indulge in ridiculing every 
passing freak of fashion as more foolish than the last — tin 
last, by its commonness, having become tolerable to the sight! 
but neither the one nor the other goes to the foundation ofj 
the matter and seek for the first principles which should g< >v 
ern the dressing of the human form. As yet the initio,] 
question, For what and why do we dress at all? seems not to 
have been asked. Fashion has ever been the guide, regard 
less of the necessities of body or the uses of dress. Taste 
common sense, or judgment have never had any part in th 



• ■* 



DRESS REFORM. O 

play. Styles have ever been invented, adopted, discarded, and 
re-adopted, without so much as saying, " By your leave," to 
these powers, which should be sole arbiters here. This will 
be apparent on a brief review of the fashions of the past. 

In one century we find our ancestors clad alike in trowsers 
and short tunic, without regard to sex ; and then we find a 
distinction, narrowing and widening in different ages. At 
one time we find men laced like the hour-glass form of the 
present fashionable woman. To-day they are dressed in 
skirts and ample robes flowing to the feet ; to-morrow, in 
jacket and short breeches. To-day the hair is powdered, and 
hangs over the shoulders in a profusion of curls, then it is cut 
close, then monstrous wigs obtain, then is worn a long braided 
queue, covered with eelskin, hanging down the back ; to-mor- 
row, again, it is clipped close. To-day shoes are worn with 
long, pointed toes, extending in some instances from eighteen 
inches to two feet beyond the toes ; but law prescribing their 
limit to two inches, we find, to-morrow, the other extreme — 
shoes a foot wide, which also called for the interdiction of 
law. To-day the man of fashion is arrayed in all the colors 
of the rainbow, and tinseled and bedizened o& till there is as 
much brass without as within; to-morrow a plain suit of black 
alone is admissible. To-day he wears an ample cloak with 
many capes ; to-morrow, a roundabout or snipe-tail, or the 
shawl, which before was considered strictly feminine apparel. 

Women, who in one period wear only the shawl, and ridi- 
cule a close-fitting street garment as mannish, a little later 
don a tight basque. At one time they appear in a head-dress 
so high they can not ride in a covered carriage ; at another, 
the hair serves as the only ornament, and that is clipped to a 
convenient length. In one decade they wear bonnets so large 
that one side is cut away a few inches to more conveniently 
allow conversation on the gentlemen's side, as they walk to- 
gether ; in the next, a liliputian namesake is worn on the back 
of the neck. Now the waist scarcely reaches below the arm ; 
then it is long and pointed, even crowding the abdominal 
\ viscera out of position. At one time pages are employed to 



6 DRESS REFORM. 

carry their Elizabethan trails ; at another, skirts are worn lank 
and short ; and at another, they are swelled with huge wooden 
hoops, longer one way than the other; then slim; then swelled 
again and sweeping. Xow a sleeve droops to the feet, then 
it scarcely comes to the elbow ; now it is stuffed out to mon- 
strous proportions, and anon it is made tight. 

In some nations it is thought a shame for women to appear 
in the street with uncovered faces ; here they may go un- 
vailed, unless it be on a funeral occasion. Our ladies might be 
hooted at and reviled in public because of their long robes, 
in some countries — and our gentlemen the same for the style 
of a boot or hat, perhaps, so do fashions differ among differ- 
ent people, changing all their ideas of taste. 

Why all these changes and differences in dress? Does the 
human form vary in different periods ? — or nations ? Or do 
the laws of beauty and utility change to demand these varia- 
tions ? Are not styles rather introduced without regard to 
these fundamental principles ? Or are there no principles 
underlying these ? — is there no infallible law by which wc 
may be governed in regard to dress? — and must this taber- 
nacle of the soul ever be clothed alone by the whims and 
caprices of those who know nothing of its necessities ? 

There are laws — simple enough — which if observed would 
clothe it in use and beauty. First — dress should be so ar- 
ranged as to secure an even temperature of body, to protect. 
it from extremes of both heat and cold. Second — it should 
be so constructed as not to obstruct or retard the motions and' 
growth and development of the limbs and the various organs] 
of the body. Third — it should be as light as possible, and! 
still secure due warmth. Fourth — its convenience should bel| 
secured by its being made to approximate the general form V 
of the body, its beauty also by following its outlines, for the J 
human form is really the most beautiful, as it is the highest, 
object in all physical nature. 

These rules, which lie at the very foundation of all proper 
garmenture, are not and have never been observed. In no 
period of the world's history has raiment answered its uses I 



DRESS REFORM. 7 

well. Indeed, it has scarcely been recognized as a thing of 
use. It has been modified with regard to temperature some- 
what in winter and summer, and has been a means of distin- 
guishing caste, or of marking the clerical, or legal, or other 
men in society; but as regards the real inherent uses of dress, 
they have been little known or regarded. Fashion has been 
sole regulator, and its frequent changes have been made only by 
the accidental caprice of its leaders, generally those in power. 

Men were once as much under its sway and their fashions 
were as frivolous as those of women at the present time. 
They were for a long period more given to all the decorations 
of the toilette than women. Sumptuary laws were frequent- 
ly passed to put a stop to such excesses, and the clergy de- 
claimed against their vanity and extravagance, to little pur- 
pose, often. Yet they have gone ahead of us. As they have 
taken hold of the world's work, necessity has compelled gar- 
menture better fitted for its efficient performance. 

It matters little, however, which sex or what class in so- 
ciety are the unfortunate victims of a wrong custom. Human 
interests are so nearly allied that all must suffer from it event- 
ually, if not in the present. If not the people of to-day, com- 
ing generations, through the laws of hereditary descent, will 
feel its blighting influence. Especially are the sexes depend- 
ent on each other for happiness. So close is their relation in 
life that one can not enjoy while the other suffers, or rise while 
the other is prostrated ; there must ever be a correspondence 
in their happiness or misery, their progression or deteriora- 
tion. I trust, therefore, that this subject will be of equal in- 
terest to all, though I shall treat more particularly of woman's 
mode of dressing, as it is at present the most injurious. I 
will speak of it as affecting her health and her highest mental 
development ; also, of the erroneous idea of dress which per- 
vades and casts its withering influence over all society. 

The great demand of the age is for health. Human effort 
is paralyzed, happiness is diminished, and life itself is cut short 
for the want of it. Disease has become so universal, that in 
almost every household in the land, scarce a twelve-month 



8 DRESS REFORM. 

passes without some of its members being prostrated by sick- 
ness ; and the great majority of those who fancy themselves 
in the enjoyment of health are far from being in possession 
of that strength and capacity for endurance, that elasticity 
and vigor of body and mind which it is possible for human 
beings to attain to. They are subject on slight causes to 
attacks of illness; they are comparatively weak and inefficient. 
Perfect health is necessary for a full enjoyment of the bless- 
ings of life and the performance of its duties. 

A thousand evil practices might be named that aid in 
making us a nation of invalids, most of which affect all classes 
and both sexes in a similar degree. How, then, shall we ac- 
count for the disparity of health in men and women? for it is 
a. fact that the latter are the most sickly. There is scarcely a 
robust American-born woman to be found. All are complain- 
ing of innumerable ailments from which men are compara- 
tively free. Look into the family — how does the health of 
the sexes compare? While the husband and father is, in 
many cases, able-bodied and buoyant, a noble specimen of 
animated life, the young wife and mother — she who, of all oth- 
ers, most needs health and strength to develop aright the little 
ones in her keeping — is almost invariably fragile, if not sick- 
ly; she is too delicate t<> perform the many duties she owes 
to her children, to her husband, and to the world, with any 
degree of justice to them or comfort to herself. Compare 
the ruddy aspect of yonder youth with the paleness and 
frailty of his sister; how vigorous the one, and lifeless the 
other ! The one is full of energy and ready for action, aye, 
anxious to take hold of the great work of life ; the other is 
irresolute and objectless, caring little for noble pursuits, 
which she has not the power of entering into aud enjoying. 

Leading writers are constantly reiterating the fact that, as 
a nation, we are in a rapid physical decline, owing in great 
part to the delicate health of women. There is not such a 
dearth of health among foreign women ; many are as robust, 
as the men, and in some countries they bear the chief burdens 
of toil. Whether or not the female portion of creation was 



DRESS REFORM. 9 

originally endowed with as much strength as the male, it nat- 
urally possesses the same measure of health. Woman should 
be as healthy as man ; all the functions of her body should be 
performed in harmony. As this is the case with many of 
the women of other nations, and now and then one in our own 
land, it is clearly proven that women, as ioome)i, need not suf- 
fer ; that the office of maternity, with its cares and duties, 
does not, by nature, injure and break down the constitution. 

Would it not, then, be the part of reason to attribute the 
present debility of American women to causes which particu- 
larly affect them ? In no respect do they differ so widely from 
the men as in their mode of dressing ; and this is sufficient to 
account for the difference in health. Other causes there are, 
it is true, but this lies back of them. 

The opinion is now quite universal, that woman's in-door 
mode of life is the predisposing cause of her disease, and it is 
not without foundation. The necessities of the human sys- 
tem are such that fresh air is indispensable to health, and not 
only fresh air, but sunshine. We may open wide windows 
and doors to permit a free circulation of air, but if deprived 
of sunlight, like plants kept in the shade, we will be pale and 
wanting in life-power. And not only do we require air and 
sunshine, but we need to exercise while in them. When en- 
gaged in active out-door work or recreation, the blood flows 
with accelerated speed through minute vessels that ramify in 
every direction among the muscular fibers, and is rapidly sent 
to the heart, increasing its action, and thus hastening it to the 
lungs ; respiration is quickened, aeration is carried on more 
rapidly, the life-forces are wrought up to vigorous activity, 
and all the functions of the body go on naturally. The exer- 
cise has quickened the life-fluid, the air purified and vitalized 
it, and it is rapidly sent through vessels that multiply and 
ramify in every direction through the system, depositing the 
tissues of strength, making the bones strong, the muscles 
elastic, and the nerves firm. The brain is rendered clear and 
powerful in action, and the whole being is full of vigor and 
animation. 



10 DRESS REFORM. 

Nature makes no difference in the common necessities of 
men and women. They are alike in this respect. Either 
will lose health and strength if confined within doors. It is 
well known that men, whose calling or profession keeps them 
in the house, who neglect to have their hours of recreation or 
exercise in the open air and sunshine, become effeminate, 
their faces sallow, their muscles soft, and their brains no less 
sO. This is as true of women. Physicians and the people are 
beginning to see it, and to prescribe out-door exercise as a 
means of restoring and preserving health and adding to 
mental vigor ; but it never will be taken to any appreciable 
extent so long as they dress as they now do. 

Women's clothing is arranged with such an eye to incon- 
venience and burdensomeness, that if they go out at all it is 
under great disadvantage. If they but cross the threshhold, 
they may dampen their feet and soil their skirts on the steps, 
and have their unprotected limbs chilled by the wind. If 
they wish to walk, they must wait till the dew is off the grass, 
and a sultry summer sun detracts from the benefit of it. If 
they work in the garden, more strength is expended on ac- 
count of the dress than with the plants ; for it not only is so 
arranged that they can not make a motion easily, but it must 
be gathered up in their arms while they work with their 
hands. If they go to market, they must carry skirts as well 
as a basket, for dew, dust, mud, or snow has to be cleared. 
If they ride, they must be lifted in and out of the carriage, 
while they take care of their skirts, and even then they are 
often caught, and have to be extricated from them ; and if, by 
accident, any danger comes to life or limb in carriage or on 
horseback, it is tenfold greater on account of such shacklinff 
garments. They may be tripped into eternity by them when 
stepping aboard a car, should it happen to start unexpectedly. 
If they wish to attend a lecture, they must consult the w eather 
instead of their moral or intellectual wants — instead of being 
satisfied with the general plan of nature, and adapting their 
clothing thereto. If pleasure or duty calls them out, when 
the earth has been freshly showered with myriads of beautiful 



DKESS EEFOEM. 11 

crystal flakes that lie glistening in the sun, so exhilarating 
to the beholder, they must go at the expense of dry feet 
and limbs, and comfort and health. If they turn to the lenfy 
adorned temple of nature to recreate, they must zigzag their 
way around every bush and log, expending all their care on 
muslin instead of enjoying nature ; and if they come to a fence, 
the field beyond is forbidden ground to them, though it be all 
abloom with choicest flowers. 

Women most usually walk the old, beaten, monotonous 
path, dressed in the common style ; and even this poor privi- 
lege is but a choice of evils in a double sense, for their cloth- 
ing is so arranged as to produce exhaustion with little exer- 
cise. Their exhaustion is always local, not general, like men's. 
Their back, or some other weak part, gives out first, and not 
because the nature of the exercise is such as to overtask any 
particular part or organ, but because the clothing is unequally 
distributed over the body, heating and weakening some parts, 
and preventing them from contributing their quota of power. 
Added to this is the extra weight above what is necessary 
for warmth if properly adjusted. Besides, there is a great 
waste of strength in the resistance of the body to clothing 
when it impedes freedom of motion, and this is in all parts, 
more or less. The fact that women never step evenly and 
keep step in walking, as men do, shows it is a hindrance to 
locomotion. Dr. Taylor, of New York, says truly on this 
point : " A short succession of sudden trips, missteps, and 
blunders will speedily exhaust even the strongest man ; and 
there can be no doubt but the present style of long skirts for 
ladies' dresses, requiring, as it does, constant, uncertain, often 
unsuccessful efforts to snatch the skirt away from the ad- 
vancing feet to keep them from tripping, the getting into car- 
riages and ascending stairs in crouching, unsteady attitudes, 
holding up the dress meantime, and all similar spasmodic 
efforts, require such a fearful expenditure of nervous energy 
that it is of itself sufficient, in many cases, to bring on a train 
of the most distressing symptoms." 

Perhaps you begin to see that though the in-door sedentary 



12 DRESS REFORM. 

life of women is a great cause of their ill health, their wrong 
dressing is the cause of that. They will never be likely to 
attempt doing anything out of their usual line of habits 
where the dress is so palpably an inconvenience. They are so 
accustomed to its inconvenience in the house that they do not 
mind it so much, though it is tenfold greater than out-doors. 
Household duties can not be performed with half the ease and 
facility with which they might be if an appropriate costume 
were worn. It is no trifling matter to run from room to room, 
making here a short turn and there another, and up stairs and 
down, inclosed by such unwieldly garments. Men would 
not be burdened with them, not even in the plow-tield, 
where the pace is slow and regular, and where there is plenty 
of room, so that they need not come in contact with every 
surrounding object. Neither would they impose them on 
their horses, and expect work of them. Is it not, then, in- 
consistent for women, who are at least supposed to be weak* r 
than either, to uselessly waste their vitality by wearing them? 
A single illustration will serve to show that they ci?*e a hin- 
drance. Supposing a man attired in female dress, so ealled, 
should come to you to hire out as cook, would you not tell 
him he was unable, on account of his dress, to do full work, 
and turn him away? Certainly you would not offer the same 
wages as if he were so dressed as to do efficient service. 
Apply this. 

But the limbs are not the only parts fettered. Even the 
hand — that beautiful instrument of the mind, without which 
the arts and sciences could never be perfected — is compressed 
by fashion. Ladies choose gloves into which their hands 
must be crowded, so that they are stretched tight as a drum 
across the palm. So with the feet. They are crippled, and 
the walk made ungraceful, by shoes which measure less in 
width than the organs themselves when out of them. This 
compression of the extremities tends, of course, to unbalance 
the circulation of the blood and surcharge some of the vital 
organs. Yet the least harm is done here. The limbs might 
]3e amputated and still the person live. It is when the trunk 



DRESS REFORM. 13 

of the body, the domain, of the vital organs, is infringed upon, 
that life is most endangered. 

Dresses are made so snug about the shoulders, and the 
sleeves set in so low on the arm, as to hinder the free move- 
ment of the arms and chest. Not unfrequently ladies take 
them oif to comb their hair, as they can not easily raise their 
arms in them, The muscles of the shoulder and arm thus 
pressed upon can not possess their natural size and strength. 
There must be a free circulation of the blood, or the deposi- 
tion of tissue will be deficient. Much of the power of the 
arm and hand for manual labor and artistic skill is thus de- 
stroyed. 

But the great point of attack is on the loiver part of the 
chest — at the very citadel of life — where inroads can most 
easily be made. Tight lacing, I know, has been consigned to 
oblivion as a relic of barbarism, the corsets in our shop win- 
dows to the contrary notwithstanding. Of course, nobody 
laces now-a-clays, in this Christian land, for who would thus 
deform the image of God ? Yet, truth bids me say, that as 
small as the number may be among intelligent people who 
purposely lace or girt in their chests, the number is fewer 
still who so dress as to give the vital organs \hsX, perfect free- 
dom necessary to carry on the functions of life harmoniously. 
Stiff corsets and boards have done much to deform and disease 
women, but the common style of snug dressing — of dressing 
" snug enough to be decent," as many express it — is doing 
greater injury, because more continuous and universal in its 
application. Women often say to me, " My dress is not 
tight ; see ! it is perfectly loose," taking up a fold in front. 
Any waist, however snug, may be taken up in that manner, 
for unconsciously the breath is held while doing it, making the 
chest smaller. The only way to ascertain whether a garment 
is too snug to be physiological is to undo the fastening, stand 
erect and fully inflate the lungs, taking care to fill the lower 
part of them, and then re-hook it. Tried by this rule — and it 
is the only true one — not one dress in fifty will come together 
within from two to four i iches. Unless a garment can be 



14 DRESS REFORM. 

fastened without polling or straining it in the least while the 
lungs are fully expanded, respiration can not go on naturally. 
There is not the power of a miniature steam-engine within to 
force away obstruction — to rend a non-elastic material. On 
the contrary, the delicate structure is so easily swayed that 
the slight pressure of the air within aids in its expansion ; and 
this extreme elasticity of the frame-work which was designed 
to facilitate respiration, renders it more susceptible to outside 
pressure. There should be extra room left between the body 
and garment to allow for expansion of the lungs. But this is 
not the case; a dress is fastened during expiration, while the 
lungs are nearly empty, and the chest is the smallest, and 
there is not sufficient space left to permit due expansion. 
Gradually the chest decreases in size — actually gives way — to 
make room for expansion. Hence we often hear the remark, 
" My dress has stretched all out — it was a snug fit when made." 
A waist can not stretch unless it is really tight, but the body 
may and does become smaller. Again and again the garment 
is altered to closely fit the form, which as often shrinks away 
from it as though its touch were pollution; 'tis premature 
death. This process goes on month after month and year 
after year, till that beautiful rotundity, so natural to the female 
form, is changed to a slim caricature. Commencing, too, 
before the young girl has developed into womanhood, the 
change is more easily effected, for besides diminishing the pres- 
ent size of her body, its growth is impeded. 

Did you ever try the experiment of tying a string about a 
young tree ? It will cease to grow where the cord is placed. 
Though loosely tied, it will never become tight in it ; it will 
have a little extra room for air and light, which are necessary 
for the circulation of the sap to nourish the tree. The bark 
is its breathing apparatus. 

Our skin, too, is a breathing organ. Numerous little capil- 
laries all over the surface bring the blood in contact with the 
air, effecting the same chemical change as in the lungs, that 
of purifying it. If a tree is so effectually dwarfed by the 
slight contact of a string, how much more so must be the 



DRESS REFORM. 15 

elastic mechanism of a human being with its additional 
necessity for expansion, by a close-fitting waist ! 

The manner in which women breathe shows that their res- 
piration is impeded. Let a gentleman and lady be sinking, 
and note the difference in their respiration when they are un- 
conscious of it. His is slow, regular, and deep, carried on 
mainly in the lower and larger part of the chest, where the 
greater proportion of the lungs are, and where most of the 
breathing should be done. His clothing beinsc loose, all of 

O DO' 

the respiratory muscles are unimpeded, and hence in full 
activity, producing that beautiful undulatory or in-and-out 
movement common to all animals similarly constructed. Her 
breathing is more rapid and irregular, and confined mostly to 
the upper part of the thorax, the lower part having become 
constricted by pressure and rendered inactive. As a general 
thing, women, unlike men, breathe up and down. The con- 
traction of the lower part of the chest renders it almost im- 
possible for the lungs to expand in a natural way, giving it an 
outward motion, and so the expansion is mainly in the upper 
part, giving it an up-and-down movement. Fortunately, the 
upper portion will not yield so readily to fashion. In the 
lower part the ribs do not meet, and the cartilages which hold 
them in position readily yield, rendering it easy to contract 
it. The lower part of the waist of women is always much the 
smallest. This is not the case with baby girls, who have not 
yet been subjected to the continued pressure of dress. 

Whalebones do their part in causing this malformation. 
The idea that they are harmless, if limber, is an erroneous 
one. If a dress is loose, when the body is erect it will hang 
straight and smooth ; but when the form is bent, it will 
naturally curve correspondingly. Now, if bones are worn 
sufficiently stiff to prevent it in any measure from doing so, 
they must necessarily press against the body at their ex- 
tremities. A lady encased in whalebone corsets or dresses 
can not lean over in the least without pressure against the 
stomach and abdominal or respiratory muscles. The weight 
of long skirts, also, presses upon them continually, keeping 



16 



DRESS REFORM. 



them in a quiescent, inactive state. The excessive heat re- 
tained by from three to five skirts, each from six to eight 
yards wide, gathered into a waist less than one sixth their 
circumference, aids not a little in weakening these muscles, 
and rendering them unfit to aid in breathing. 

"But," many a lady contends, "my dressing has not injured 
me — jTam naturally slim." Now, young lady, let us reason 
together. Your chest evidently was not designed to be so 
much smaller than your brother's, for instance, supposing you 
to be of the same height ; for your system requires no less 
oxygen than his. Physiology reveals no difference of neces- 
sity here. Minute capillaries all over the system are con- 
stantly engaged in gathering up worn-out, useless pail ides 
of matter, which result from the motions of the various organs 
of the body, and emptying them into the veins to be carried 
to the heart, from which they are sent to the lungs, where 
minute blood-vessels are arranged in a net-work on the outer 
walls of the air-cells, which are so thin as to allow these little 
particles to pass through them and be cast out with the 
breath, and the oxygen of the air to pass in and take their 
place, vitalizing the blood, and fitting it to renew the muscles, 
nerves, bones, tendons, etc. 

In accordance with the laws of chemicnl affinity, the amount 
of carbon or impurity eliminated is proportionate to that of 
the oxygen taken into the system. The size of the chest and 
the activity of the lungs, then, determine the purity of the 
blood. If this life-fluid is insufficiently vitalized and purified, 
it can not build up strong, healthy tissue ; and this weakened 
condition of the system renders it extremely impressible to 
injury, and susceptible of many diseases, such as scrofula, 
tubercular consumption, etc. When any part of the lungs is 
kept inactive, the air-cells fill with impurities or tubercles, 
which, on taking cold, often suppurate and irritate the sur- 
rounding substance of the lung, when death generally closes 
the scene. 

Do you not see now, young lady, that you should be no 
slender than a gentleman ? That nature designed your 



DEESS REFORM. 17 

breathing- capacity should be no less ? Why should your 
waist be less in circumference than that of your maid-of-all- 
work, Bridget? Did she grow too large, think you ? — larger 
than natural ? Why do girls become more slim as they grow 
older, instead of increasing in size as boys do, if it is not that 
their clothing is too snug ? Do you say they become slender 
because their .health fails ? Ah, the health fails because their 
breathing capacity is made insufficient. As only about half 
the proper amount of air is respired, half the powers of life 
are wasted. Our measure of health is determined by the air 
we breathe. How vigorous and strong are those women who 
dress loosely and labor in the open fields ! — and the size of 
their waists is proportionate. So with men. Nature is im- 
partial ; she designed that our citadel of life should be no 
less expansive. The false idea that the female form should be 
delicate and slim, causes girls to be dressed a little more snug 
than boys, from the very cradle up ; so when arrived at 
womanhood and manhood, the caved-in, tapering waist of 
the one which is produced, is supposed to be as much a 
production of nature as the full, round form of the other. 
Every effort seems to be made to decrease this part of the 
body — the only part where ligaturing can be a complete 
success. The lungs, stomach, and liver are thus crowded 
upward, and the abdominal viscera downward, as if to cut 
the body in two ; it does, too, often cause a dissolution of 
body and spirit. 

And here comes in another and perhaps greater trouble 
resulting from such wrong dressing. The digestive organs, 
crowded out of position, press upon those of the generative 
system, which, thus displaced, and also chronically congested 
by the undue heat retained by the excess of clothing, the 
thick ingathering of skirts, become diseased, giving rise to 
some of the most prostrating weaknesses, the most terrible 
diseases, to which humanity is subject — those which affect 
woman as woman. Very many women have recovered from 
this condition by adopting the Reform Dress. This costume, 
being loose and light, allows the organs to regain their natu- 



18 DRESS REFORM. 

ral position ; and as it does not confine an undue quantity of 
heat about the pelvic region by the ingathering of several 
skirts, the congestion soon disappears. 

About as bad a feature as there is in woman's dressing is 
its unequal distribution over the body. Some parts are not 
sufficiently protected to guard against atmospheric changes, 
while others are over-dressed. The extremities, which are 
farthest from the center of circulation, are thinly clad, and 
the trunk, containing organs naturally supplied with more 
blood, and hence generating a greater degree of caloric, is 
dressed much warmer. In the parts thus exposed the cool 
air contracts the little capillaries of the skin, forcing the blood 
back to the internal organs, congesting them ; and this con- 
gestion is augmented by the excess of clothing hi those parts. 
Many a young lady has passed to a consumptive's grave be- 
cause she failed to clothe the extremities well. If tomb-stones 
could speak, what startling tales of the causes of premature 
mortality would they reveal ! 

Would American women adopt a costume that would sit 
easily upon the body, obstructing none of its movements, and 
engage in health-giving vocations, they might be as robust as 
the peasantry of other countries, whose habits are better in 
these respects. It does one good to watch their energetic 
movements when they come to our shores. They are not 
troubled with the headache, the backache, and the this and 
the that, as the great majority of our more cultured women 
are. I have often thought that if they could have the educa- 
tional advantages of our women, and our women could attain 
to the physical vigor and stamina which they enjoy, both 
would be more harmoniously developed, more useful and 
happy. Their brains are not sufficiently cultured ; they arc 
not active enough to keep pace with their bodies; and the 
bodies of our women are not large and strong enough to sup- 
port their very active brains. 

But life and health must be sacrificed, I suppose, for il is 
fashionable to be slender and delicate. Strange to say, the 
great majority even of those who affect to despise the foibles 



DRESS REFORM. 19 

and frivolities of their sex would not for the world so dress 
as to grow large-chested, vigorous, and strong. They do not 
dare to have the appearance of real vigor. How shocking it 
would be ! Yet robust health — genuine, bounding health ! — 
is a boon worthy of possession, my friends. 

Here is a man who has scarcely reached the prime of life, 
but how care-worn and unhappy he is ! He chose his life-com- 
pnnion when she seemed to give promise of a glorious 
womanhood. But a sad change has come over the scene. 
Her step and spirit are no longer bounding and elastic from 
the impulse of health ; the cheering light of her eye has fled, 
and the rose-color faded from her cheek ; the glad music of 
her laugh is changed to moans and useless complainings, per- 
haps. Her high soul-aspirings are nipped in the bud, and her 
intellect dwarfed; her affections enfeebled and erratic, and she 
is the creature of false tastes, desires, and ambition. Disease 
has made her a wreck of her former self. Once the light and 
.joy of his life, she is now dappling his locks with gray! Ask 
the disheartened husband of this blighted being if physical 
vigor is not above all price, and what would be the answer ? 
Go ask the mother, during her night-watches over her suffer- 
ing little one, if a painless existence is not worth striving for, 
and gaze through that tear-formed vail down into her heart's 
depths of despair, dark as the night without, and surmise the 
response ! 

Question all suffering humanity, and the answer ever is, 
There is no fullness of joy without perfect health y and that 
silly fastidiousness which views its robustness with disgust is 
unworthy of respect. It is a fungous growth from diseased 
brains, and should be eradicated from society. The intelli- 
gent and truly refined never associate with this the idea of 
vulgarity or coarseness. They look upon the best physical 
condition as indispensable to the highest mental action. The 
diseased state of any part of the body affects the brain ; and 
as this organ is the medium through which mind is mani- 
fested, its condition is the measure of the amount and quality 
of mentality engendered. The depth of the intellect, the 



20 DRESS REFORM. 

purity of the moral aspirations, and the warmth of the affec- 
tions are all affected by it. 

Dress Reform, then, is emphatically a mental or moral re- 
form, as it is designed to improve the condition of the mind 
by changing that of the body. But more directly does it 
claim to be a moral reform. Some of the highest faculties of 
the mind are perverted and turned from their true course by 
the subserviency to fashion. 

Ideality, or love of the beautiful in man, is a noble attribute ; 
it elevates and purifies thought, and seeks constantly to ren- 
der life more perfect and harmonious. But when perverted, 
it becomes depraving in its influence ; its perfecting power is 
supplanted by a sickly delicacy which calls for the waste of 
time, capital, and energy to model forms of false beauty. In 
no way is this needful element rendered more abnormal than 
by dress. Styles have ever originated with those who are 
ignorant of the laws of health, and who possess a low ambi- 
tion to excel in uniqueness all preceding ones, rather than a 
truly artistic taste. Hence there is a great lack of beauty in 
the ever-varying fashions that come up. This panorama of 
monstrosities, constantly moving before the eye of ideality, 
has a tendency to dim its vision. You know — 

" Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, 
That to be hated needs but to be seen ; 
Bui se< n too oft, familiar with her face, 
We fiivi endure, then pity, then embrace." 

So it is with fashions that differ materially from those 
which precede them. They are first disliked, then tolerated, 
then adopted. A boy learns to relish whisky or tobacco, 
which at first are very nauseous to him; for the nervous 
sensations become deadened and cease to rebel — cease their 
endeavor to expel the poison from the system. So, when a 
style is constantly placed before the eye, the moral sensibility 
of ideality becomes blunted, and it ceases to cry out against 
the abnormality. 

We may become so accustomed to anything, no matter 
how repulsive to the eye of beauty, common sense, aye, or of 



DRESS EEFOKM. 21 

decency even, it may at first appear, as to adopt, if not ad- 
mire it. This, in the face of our self-styled refinement, wis- 
dom, and morality, may seem a broad assertion ; but for proof 
of it we have only to turn to the pages of memory. The 
gentlemen may, perhaps, call to mind some fashions which 
were not at first admired, but which they afterward adopted. 
The a stove-pipe hat" for instance, was at first considered both 
uncomely aud im comfort able, but was soon worn and ad- 
mired. The advent of the shawl as a part of their apparel 
met universal ridicule, yet it was not long before every gentle- 
man was seen in the streets with one on. 

Perhaps the ladies can call to mind a fashion or two that 
was not liked on its first appearance. Well do I remember 
the expression of disgust with which the long, pointed bodice 
waist w r as ushered in ; and I remember, too, that those who 
were loudest in their vociferations against the style soon 
joined the leaders in its praise ! There was another fashion 
started with two points to the waist, and a little shot in each 
to keep them in place. Some ridiculed this ; but I, as a dis- 
interested on-looker, could not see that two points held down 
by shot w^ere any more expressive of folly than one kept in 
place by whalebone. The coat-sleeve which came in vogue 
after the large " mutton-leg" w T as condemned on account of its 
" masculine" appearance and for its vulgarity, for it showed 
the shape of the arm. It was not long, however, before it 
teas universally worn, and uncomfortably tight at that. 
Taste was so changed by its adoption, that the open, flowing 
sleeve which followed it w r as .at first ridiculed as a " great 
slouchy thing." I need not mention the present hay-stack 
form of skirt. Every lady remembers the awkward, stiff 
appearance they at first presented, and her resolution not to 
be " hooped" until considerably weaker at least. 

So fashions come and go, changing our tastes rapidly. 
There w r as a truth in the sarcasm of the man who, when he 
bought a bonnet for his wife, said he " must hurry home with 
it before it was out of fashion." But the worst change that 
fashion makes is in our manners, which vary with our tastes. 



22 DRESS REFORM. 

The very styles of dress — mark this — which once did seeming 
honor to the belle or beau would now subject them to the 
ridicule of those who then admired them ! Need I ask if 
true beauty demands this debasement ? Is not that ever the 
same f And do not our changeable views in regard to it be- 
token a wrong state of the mind? That only is in good 
taste which harmonizes perfectly with utility — which does not 
in any way retard natural development — and that is always 
beautiful. 

How far does the common style of dress depart from this 
rule ! Besides being injurious, it disfigures the form, giving 
it proportions far from natural. An intelligent being from 
another planet would hardly judge, seeing woman in her pres- 
ent dress, that she, like man, has an upright form, with limbs 
to locomote. This is well illustrated by a poem, entitled " Old 
Times and New." The rejuvenist, as the author styles him- 
self, sat down to muse on the Pilgrim band first landed on 
these shores. There appeared before his mind's eye a man 
in ancient dress, who, drawing up his chair, sat down beside 
him. He announced himself as Richard Warren, who in the 
cabin of the Mayflower was one of the signers of the first 
New England charter. He was running over with questions 
in regard to our improvements. Our steamboats, railroads, 
etc., were shown him in the quaintest style of the author. 
At last he spied an object of peculiar interest. I will quote : 

' ' Once more we stepped into the street ; 
Said Warren, ' What is that 
Which moves along across the way, 
As softly as a cat ? 

I mean the thing upon two legs, 

With feathers on its head — 
A monstrous hump below its waist — 

Large as a feather-bed. 

It has the gift of speech, I hear, 

But sure it can't be human !' 
' My amiable friend,' said I, 

' That's what we call a woman V 



DRESS REFORM. 23 

1 Eternal powers ! it can not be !' 

And his voice slowly faltered, 
' I loved the women in ray day, 

But, oh, they're strangely altered !' " 

Yes, they are strangely altered ! And this metamorphosis 
ye call beauty ! Know ye not the human form itself is the 
most beautiful in outline of any shape in nature ? It can not 
be improved upon by lacing, compressing, or padding, hoop- 
ing, and swelling, till it appears a wretched distortion of 
nature, and scarcely less a disgrace to art. The artist under- 
stands this. Go into any of our best picture-galleries, and 
you will see that whatever drapery is thrown around models 
of beauty, is so arranged as to leave distinct the general 
outlines of the body. 

Approbativeness is perverted, as well as ideality, by fash- 
ionable dressing. This is an essential part of character. It 
gives a sense of honor, making its possessor walk nobly before 
his fellow-men ; and it seeks and enjoys the commendation of 
worthy deeds. But it has sadly departed from its high mean- 
ing among the American people. They seek praise and popu- 
larity too often at the expense of the right, instead of as a 
result of right doing. This perversion is the principal cause 
in universal society of much of its moral sin. Political chi- 
canery, dishonest money-getting, medical artificing, marriages 
for rank and wealth — what are all these but the effervescence 
of false pride and a low ambition ? 

To a great extent this wrong is fostered in dress. It is 
the fashion to have a few leaders in fashion, and it is the 
fashion to follow the fashions that they fashion ; moreover, it 
is the fashion to think we might as well be out of the world 
as out of the fashion. Fashion makes the veriest slaves of 
those who will wear her chains. Talk of the aristocracy of 
wealth ! Your tailor or your mantua-maker prepares for you 
your passport into society. You may be endowed with all 
those high qualities that place you among earth's nobility, 
yet, if minus this passport, you can not but feel as you go out 
into the world, that this, instead of true worth, is made the 



24 DRESS REFORM. 

criterion of respectability. How humiliating the thought, 
that wool from the sheep's back, cotton raised by the unre- 
quited toil of the slave, and silk from the cocoon of a little 
worm, all fashioned, perchance, in the haunts of vice, are 
made paramount to man — man made in the image of his 
Maker ! The state of society should be such, that each indi- 
vidual could dress within his or her means, and fashion their 
garments according to their own sense of fitness, without 
being looked down upon for so doing. It does not become 
us, with all our God-like attributes, to pay homage to dry 
goods — much less to exact it. It does not become us, as an 
enlightened and conscientious people, to disregard the laws 
of health in our mode of dressing. Far less does it become 
us, with all our vaunted independence and morality, to ape 
the fashions of such a world-renowned licentious place as 
Paris / for it is a matter of historical record that the street- 
walkers of that city, which is noted for them, originate styles 
that are followed by the whole fashionable world. 

Sometimes I have looked upon dresses too short at the top, 
exposing to the public gaze necks which, contrary to anatomy, 
extend far down upon the body; and whenever a muddy or 
dusty way has to be crossed, embroidery shown, or a pew- 
door entered, as short at the bottom — minus pants ! I have 
been led to exclaim : " Who, indeed, but such characters could 
have invented such a dress /" Do not understand me as in- 
sinuating aught against those who so dress. I only speak of 
costumes, not of persons. If I seern to speak plainly, and 
tread on forbidden ground, let me appeal to your own deli- 
cacy if it is not better to broach this subject with a view to 
reforming the dress than longer to sanction, by silence, its 
really indelicate exposures, which are witnessed daily in the 
street, the kitchen, the parlor, and the public assembly; and 
which can not be obviated in such an unprotective style. 

I well remember an incident which occurred several years 
ago at a university I was attending. The ladies had remained 
after school to form a licerary club; when we went out, the 
wind was blowing a perfect gale, and all exerted themselves 



DRESS REFORM. 25 

more to keep their clothes down than to breast it, which alone 
was enough for the strongest man to do. They expressed, in 
almost one voice, their joy that the gentlemen students were 
not with them to witness their predicament. I called their 
attention to the indelicacy of such an unprotective si vie of 
dress, and every one acknowledged the point, as is always the 
case in such emergencies. Ladies in a similar pickle, often 
on the street say to me, "I envy you your dress !" 

In the fall of '55 I was present at the opening of the Female 
College at Elmira, 1SL Y. Visitors thronged the building ; 
ladies and gentlemen ascended to the top, where there was a 
fine prospect of the country around. A ladder had to be 
scaled to reach the roof; and as the wind swept through the 
apartment, Paul Pry must take observations whether he would 
or not. At last a lady slowly descended the way, a man in ad- 
vance of her, with his arm about her skirts, to confine them 
to her ankles. I could stand it no longer, and I said to a 
friend who was with me, and who was also a dress-reformer, 
" Let us go up there, and show this people there is a better 
way to dress /" I venture the assertion, though I say it who 
should not, perhaps, that there was not one in that vast con- 
course of peoj)le but saw the contrast in favor of our costumes 
as regards modesty. The wind might whistle, and take it out 
in whistling, but nothing more was to be seen than outside — 
simply, close pants and a short skirt, lined with like material. 
I need not ask if you would consider a man modestly attired 
who should put on the dress of women ? You readily see he 
would be ashamed to go into the streets, or even move about 
the room, for fear he might thoughtlessly or accidentally as- 
sume some wrong position — wrong as regards the dress only. 
In this w^orld of work and play, men and women should be so 
clothed as to make it proper to assume any posture necessary. 

I know an attempt is sometimes made to cast a stigma 
upon the reformed dress ; but it is only a reflection from the 
common style; this is such an imdress, and it has been worn 
so long that, if a short skirt is worn, the idea comes up that 
there is nothing scarcely beneath, which is the case with the 



26 DRESS REFORM. 

common style ; but with our costume, the real warmth and 
protection are in the pants. Had I no other reason for adopt- 
ing this, innate delicacy would bid me do so, though the street 
rowdies and the Flora McFlimseys, whose lewd curiosity it 
fails to satisfy, may belie my motives. 

If I have shocked some of you by strong, open truth, let 
me ask you if you are worse shocked daily by the reality of 
which this is only a shadow f and is not this necessary to 
remedy that ? However unpleasant and painful the operation, 
it is wiser always to amputate a limb, if necessary, than to 
endure the disease and rottenness. 

Viewed in any aspect, the common style of dress for women 
is one of the greatest barbarisms ever known, especially con- 
sidering the age in which we live. Only think of the women 
of the nineteenth century wearing apparel incompatible with 
the laws of their being — with health, comfort, and conven- 
ience, protection and neatness, disproportioned to the body, 
awkward and burdensome! What are we, indeed, that we 
should be rigged off like a ship of war? — encased in iron, 
wood, whalebone, and steel ; cncoiled in cording, ropes, and 
sails ; and freighted with a useless cargo of dry goods ? Was 
there a mistake made in our construction, that we must go to 
the mines of the earth or the trees of the forest lor material 
to gird us round about? A mistake was it, that we must rob 
the whale of his bones, and place them perpendicularly when 
nature has placed our own bones horizonttdly, and thus hin- 
der their motion and use ? If so, then have we reason to pity 
the poor men who, like us, were unfortunate in their construc- 
tion, and are without these mitigating helps. 

Hundreds, almost, have said to me, " You may make people 
see the truth of this reform, but they will never come up to 
so high a standard as to leave custom and adopt it." Is it 
possible, after all, that we are incapable of giving the reins to 
our higher natures ? Are we, with all our God-like attributes, 
our aspirations for a more beatific life, too weak to attain and 
practice that better moral code which brings joy alone in its 
train ? Shall man, " only a little lower than the angels," make 



DRESS REFORM. 27 

this confession f Godforbid! Forbid it, all ye powers of truth 
latent in the human soul ! Cry out in thunder tonus against 1 his 
sacrilege of human nature, till they reverberate from the in- 
nermost depths of our being! stirring with startling emphasis 
our sham foundations of moral principle, bidding us awake to 
its moldering condition. Ring out, ye tocsin of conscience, 
your clarion notes on the clear air of reason, till they an' 
borne along over the hills and dales of thought, and the ears 
of the morally deaf even are unsealed ! 

When we come to realize the import of life, its uses and 
responsibilities, and see that our thoughts and acts will spread 
their widening influence down through the cycles of time, we 
shall accept praise only for worth, disdaining to gain it by 
inferior means, and have too high a regard for the casket of 
the soul to injure or deform it by its covering, which should 
serve to protect it ! Who does not wish in their inmost souls, 
as the yearning for something better and nobler goes out, that 
the time was even now ? We can soon bring it. If we put 
an atom of coloring matter into a large vessel of water, it 
discolors the particles of fluid next to it ; these convey the 
tint to their next neighbors, and so on. So individual influ- 
ence widens and extends till its effects are seen and felt 
throughout the great body of society. If we realize that it 
is nobler to be pioneers in a much-needed reform, than to be 
the victims of a ruinous custom, waiting to sail after the crowd 
when the popular current shall be changed, we can change it. 
Certain it is that it will be changed, sooner or later. People 
are not always going to be walking advertisements for the 
various fabrics of fashion, in ojmosition to personal comfort 
and health. They are coming upon a higher plane of being, 
where they will " stand fast in the liberty wherewith God hath 
made the free." Even now they are beginning to see that 
this can not be done while reason and conscience, two of the 
highest powers of the mind, are sacrificed on the altar of a 
false public opinion. Does any one doubt that they are sacri- 
ficed or compromised ? Almost daily we hear confessions of 
wrong dressing, because of " they say" 



28 DRESS REFORM. 

Conscience thus constantly unheeded becomes inert, in a 
measure making its possessor proportionately lower in the 
scale of being. The same is true of reason, when its guiding 
power is disregarded; and who will question the fact that it is ? 
Who will contend that its light points to such a wide difference 
in the dress of human beings, formed so nearly alike as are men 
and women ? As there is the same general form of trunk and 
limb, why should not there be the same analogy in their appa- 
rel? The lungs and limbs of both being designed for like func- 
tions, why not give them the same degree of freedom ? The feet 
of either tread the ground alike ; and if those of one require 
thick, substantial covering, do not those of the other also ? 
If the long drapery of woman is so very becoming, does not 
man as well need its beautifying power ? If a small waist be 
the acme of perfection, there can be no reason why man, too, 
should not draw the strings around his still larger body. If 
a dwarfed foot is better fitted either for use or beauty, the 
growth of boys' as well as girls' feet should be prevented by 
crowding them into the smallest possible covering till ma- 
turity. If a woman must be burdened with various boxes, 
bundles, and satchels, to say nothing of trunks, in order to 
make a presentable appearance at her friend's during a 
month's stay, surely the gentleman who accompanies her 
should not so far ignore people's taste as to travel with only 
the contents of a single valise. If gentlemen require thick 
overcoats to protect them from the winter's cold, do not ladies 
as well? — or can they endure it better? as a merchant said to 
me in Chicago the other day. He questioned my common 
sense, or denied his own, by showing me a thin, flimsy cape, 
fit only for summer's wear, and saying, "That is all the style 
for ladies now; it is just what you want." Said I, " Would 
you think of wearing such a thin garment in place of an over- 
coat this cold weather ? Would it be sufficient protection ?" 
Like a true, blinded devotee of fashion, he replied : " Oh, no, 
I wouldn't ; but women can endure cold better than we 
men !" Go to your graveyards, and see if they can ! The 
records there say they die younger than men. 



DRESS EBFOEM. 29 

Some will say, perhaps, that this greal difference In appar- 
eling is necessary to distinguish the sexes. Supposing for a 

moment this to be the ease, then would it nol be wiser to 
reverse the plan ? If either sex must be victimized, in order 

to set up an unnatural distinction between men and women, 
let it be the former; let it not be the bearer of the ra 
Those who are to nourish and give constitutional vigor to the 
germ of being, have a thousand-fold greater need of being 
free from the causes of discomfort and ill-health. 

In all of nature's costuming there is an adaptation of the 
apparel to the form and use of the object clothed. All ob- 
jects in the vegetable world have their protective coverings ; 
but they are not so arranged as to hinder growth and devel- 
opment, for a mark of distinction. In the animal kingdom 
there are no inconvenient appendages as mere badges of dis- 
tinction. The deer are both so clothed that they together 
may skim the plain. The majestic Hon does not remove from 
his face the unmistakable evidence of masculinity, and then 
hang long robes about his companion at the seat of the vital 
organs, robbing her of her inherent life-power. A\ ny should 
man ? The voice, the countenance, the build of the body — 
man with his broad shoulders and narrow hips, and woman 
vice versa— all betray such broad distinction, that there is 
no need of so dressing as to augment it, and especially so as 
to destroy all similarity of appearance. 

Yet many foolish, unthinking people there are, who seem 
to fear that if the sexes dress anywhere near alike, they will 
change places. Just as if the natural, innate powers of human 
beings can be remodeled by the shape of the cloth which 
covers their bodies. I have too much regard for the idea of 
sex which is inherent in all nature, and visible throughout all 
its kingdoms, to believe that it can be changed or destroyed. 
Let men and women both be so dressed as to allow the best 
physical development and the highest mental culture, and they 
will still retain their peculiar characteristics, which, having 
been heightened by the general improvement, will stand forth 
in brighter prominence. True, women properly clothed, be- 



30 DRESS REFORM. 

coming more healthy and worshiping petty fashions less, 
would possess more stability and courage ; but these qualities 
are not masculine, though they are developed to a greater 
degree at present in men. They may be brought out alike in 
both sexes when they are placed in the same circumstances, 
which is not true of natural differences. The man of fashion 
was once as frivolous and vain and objectless as the woman 
of fashion of to-day. He painted, perfumed, and powdered, 
and adorned his costly silks with gold-lace and embroidery, 
and became as effeminate as a modern belle. The same cir- 
cumstances produced the same effect. He did not deteriorate 
as a man simply, nor does she as a woman ; but both are 
made inferior by it as human beings. So the powers of both 
can best be developed and brought out by a higher course of 
action. Let the chances for development and improvement 
be equal, and men and women alike will grow into beautiful 
proportions of body and spirit with no more danger of assim- 
ilation than the male and female plants in a strawberry-bed, 
which grow side by side, their wants supplied by the same 
soil, the same genial showers, and the same sunshine. Men, 
dressed in the inconvenient, uuhealthful garb of women would 
not thereby take on modesty and virtue, and all those quali- 
ties which are supposed to be peculiarly feminine ; but they 
would become sickly, weak, inefficient, and comparatively 
helpless and dependent; they would be no more feminine^ 
but more effeminate. They would deteriorate in the hitman 
scale, simply. Women, so far from becoming masculine, clad 
in a better way, would only develop the common powers of 
body and mind, which it is the duty, as it should be the priv- 
ilege, of every human being to bring into full play, and be- 
come more self-helpful, beautiful, and good, and better fitted 
for their duties as wives and mothers and members of society. 
Reforms have been instituted in almost every department 
of life ; but we have not yet sought to perfect the plan of 
clothing the body. Fairs for the improvement of stock are 
held; but the human mother may lose nearly half her young 
before they are five years old, and the cause is not inquired 



DRESS REFORM. 31 

into. Fine needle-work, too, takes its premium, but none 
offer a better dress for women. Indeed, people seem to have 
settled down into the opinion, that they are such frivolous 
creatures that improvements would ill befit them ; that they 
are by nature given to idle show and inconsistencies. It is no 
more true of them than it was once of men, or than it may 
be again at no distant day. The soldiery of the country seem 
to be leading off in this direction; they wear rather more 
cords, stripes, tassels, and feathers of various colors, than is 
necessary as a mark of distinction. These dashes of dress 
are fast becoming common outside the ranks, for men wish at 
least to appear patriotic, if they have not the courage to be 
really so. 

How much frivolity, and vanity, and deception may be en- 
gendered by spending the precious hours of life in making 
and wearing the minutiae of a woman's dress — the bows that 
tie nothing, bands that fasten nothing, and buttons that but- 
ton nothing — it is difficult to compute; but certain it is that 
her innate aspirations and capacities for a true life are not in- 
ferior to man's. Here and there one has come out from the 
fashionable folly of the times, though it would seem at least 
like cutting one's self aloof from all society. "When we fully 
realize the benefit resulting from any change, it is not hard to 
make it, however unpopular it may be. It is worth no small 
sacrifice to sift one's friends, and separate the true from the 
fashion-fawners ; besides, when one stands forth as the repre- 
sentative of a principle of right, scores of the noble and true 
stand ready to take him or her by the hand, who otherwise 
might not have noted their existence even. So in point of 
both quality and numbers we are only the gainers socially. 
True, many resort to ridicule, the fool's argument — an invin- 
cible argument to those who can not give nor appreciate: reason 
nor logic. I was going to add, for "the fools are not all 
dead yet," but this would hardly be just, for I have yet to see 
the first person who, on having the subject fairly presented, 
would not concede everything in the argument. I believe — • 
and this is based on several years' experience — that if the 



32 DRESS REFORM. 

whole nation could convene to-morrow and discuss this 
question in all its bearings on the health and efficiency of 
women and the welfare of the race, there would be scarcely 
a dissenting voice to the universal application of the reform. 

The world at any time can illy afford to lose almost the en- 
tire energies of one half the race ; and in view of our national 
difficulties, this applies at the present time with startling- 
force. If there ever was a time in the world's history when 
men and women were called upon to be true, to exert their 
powers to the utmost, that time is now, when oppression 
seeks to overthrow the best government the sun ever shone 
upon ! — it is now, when we would sound from every tower, 
hill-top, and along every valley the clarion notes of freedom ! 
when we would settle forever this question of a free govern- 
ment ! And shall woman sit in her swaddling clothes, and 
fold her hands because she is in them? deploring, perhaps, 
that being a woman she must pocket her patriotism, and cry- 
ing away her very life for the lost and slain, instead of ren- 
dering efficient aid in (his crisis ? Oh, I almost forgot ; they 
do, indeed, knit stockings for the soldiers! — and bless their 
brave hearts for the sacrifice/ Such things are needed as well 
as ammunition, and she is freedom's donor who gives them. 
All honor to those women who, appreciating the exigency of 
the times, have volunteered to bind up soldiers' wounds, 
go into printing-offices, wield the pen editorial, manage farms, 
cut off useless expenses, or in any way to work, though indi- 
rectly, for their country's good! And may they at no distant 
day have a country to work for — one that will recognize them 
as citizens, with natural born rights ! If so habited as to use 
all their powers to the best advantage, they might be more 
efficient manifold in this struggle, and thus easily prove their 
title to rights, for rights must be conceded where duties are 
performed. Gerritt Smith has well said that it is well-nigh 
useless to talk of woman's rights till she is so habited as to 
be able to use them. 

Woman's position hitherto has been such that her powers 
have been undervalued, and their waste consequently over- 



DEES3 KEFORM. ',y.\ 

looked. Previous to the progress of civilization she was 
valued merely as a being for the gratification of man's lu 
theu as the tool of his whole animal nature, and now a 
half-recognized selfhood. She was found first in the harem, 
then in the market, now in the kitchen and parlor. First, she 
was thought a mere female; then it was discovered, by some 
erudite philosopher, she had, after all, a soul to save; now it 
is beginning to be believed she is a thinking, responsible 
being, with rights and duties that go hand-in-hand, aotwith- 
standing the supreme decision of his judgeship Sir Public 
Opinion, that she has "no rights which white men are bound 
to respect." 

Whether we consider her as the mother of the race, the 
companion and help-meet of man, the keeper of the house, a 
parlor ornament or kitchen worker, a tiller of the soil, an in- 
ventor in the arts and sciences, or as a Florence Nightingale 
who goes to the Crimea and gives to the world more sanitary 
knowledge than all its physicians and surgeons before, or a 
Mrs. Browning who writes an "Aurora Leigh" — a book with 
a thought-gem gleaming in every line, that the world will yet 
read and appreciate — whether, I say, she is considered in one 
or all of these capacities, it matters little in relation to reform- 
ing her raiment. Whatever her vocation or position in lift — 
high or low, great or small, in-door or out-door — her capacity 
to fill it well should be the same; and this depends in no 
small measure on her garmenture, whether or not it is so 
fashioned as to be at once a hindrance to body and soul. 

This, of course, applies equally well to either sex, and to 
any nation or people. The foundation rules of dress are 
essentially the same for all of the human form, in all periods. 
However adverse to the public mind these radical premii 
and propositions may be on their first presentation, a little 
thought will render them clear and acceptable. 



NEW YORK 

HYGEIO-THERAPEUTIC 

o €> x x, m a "m , 

[chartered r. y the legislature.] 

The Course of Lectures for the Winter Term will commence the second Monday 
in November of each year, and continue twenty weeks, Including one (reek's 
vacation during the holiday Beason. 

FACULTY. 

R. T. TRALL, M.D., Institutes of Medicine, Theory and Pbaotn i. Materia 

Mbdioa, Female Diseases, and Medical Jurisprudence. 
O. T. LINKS. M.R. Anatomy and SubGEBY. 
IITLDAH PAGE, M.D., Physiology and Hygiene. 
A. K. EATON", M.D., Chemistry and Naturae Philosophy. 
LYDIA F. FOWLER, M.D., Obstetbios. 

Dr. II. F. BRIG6S, Philosophy -of Voice, Speech, and Gesture. 
L. N. FOWLER, A.M., Phrenology and Mental Science. 

CURATORS. 

G. F. ADAMS, M.D., Brooklyn, N. T. 
JAMES C. JACKSON, M.D., Dansyille, N. Y. 
HELD ATI PAGE, M.D., Augusta, Maine. 
O. T. LINES, M.D., Williamse-urgh, N. Y. 
E. P. MILLER, M.D., New York. 

Fees for the whole Course, $75, payable in advance. Matriculation Fee, $5. 
Graduation Fee, $20. Candidates for the degree of M.D. arc required to deposit a 
thesis on some medical subject, with the Graduation Fee, two weeks before the 
close of the term. 

Board can be had in the city for from $3 to $5 per week, according to rooms and 
other accommodations required. Students who prefer, can hire rooms and board 
themselves. 

Programme of Educational Exercises. 

Usually there will be Four Lectures daily, of one hour each. Half an hour, 
morning and evening, will be devoted to gymnastic and elocutionary exercises. A 
('Unique will be held every Friday ; and on Saturdays the BtudentS will visit the 
hospitals and public institutions, where a great variety of surgical operations 
performed, and where almost every phase of diseased and deformed humanity can 
be seen. There will be a Lyceum debate on Medical subjects one "r two evenings 
of each week, with criticisms, essays, etc, by members of the class, for mutual 
improvement. One or two evenings of each week will be appropriated to music, 
dancing, and other wholesome exercises and recreations. 

For further information, address 

R. T. TRALL, M.D., 
15 Laigbt Street, Nkw Yop.k. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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15 LAIGHT STEEET, 

NEW YORK. 



PHYSICIANS. 

R. T. TRALL, M.D.— E. P. MILLER, M.D.-ELLEN HIGGINS, M.D. 

This commodious Establishment, wid ,-ly and favorably known as Dr. Tr all's "Water- 
Cure, has been newly furnished and painted, ami pro\ i < 1 * -« I w itli inert ased conveniences 
for the comfort of Invalids, and such boarders ;,s desire to live in an Institution of this 
kind. 

Buaiihrs, who desire the dietary of the Institution without medical attendance, can 
be accommodated with pleasant rooms. 

The business arrangements of this Establishment comprehend : 

1. General Practice, in City and Country, by Drs. Trall and Miller. 

3. Office Consultations, personally or by letter, with full written directions for 
self-treatment. 

3. Infirmary Department. This is under the exclusive management of the 
Physicians, and comprehends a 

Department for Female Diseases, in which are treated prolapsus and other dis- 
placements, deformity, sterility, and all forms of uterine diseases, requiring either med- 
ical, mechanical, or surgical management. Also a 

General Bled.cal Department, for the treatment of all forms and varieties of con- 
stitutional diseases. And a 

Surgical Department, for the Cure of Cancers, Polypus and other tumors, ulcers, 
etc. 

Movement-Cure, or Kineslpathy, for the treatment of relaxed or contracted 
muscles, displaced organs or parts, distortions and other deformities, spinal curvatures 
and a variety of ailments usually denominated " chronic debility." This department is 
under the special direction of an experienced manipulator. 

Among the diseases which we treat with almost invariable success, are vt.vkrs and 
inki. animations of all kinds ; gout and rheumatism, both acute and chronic; all 
varieties of bowel oomplaints; consumption in its earlier stages; every stage of 

DYSPEPSIA, ASTHMA, LIVER and KIDNEY COMPLAINTS J CONSTIPATION and PILES id their 

most obstinate forms; gonorrhea, spermatorrhea, etc. 

Our constitutional remedied embrace ait; water, food, temperature, electricity, 
magnetism, caliathenic and gymnastic escercUse*, and mental recreations, variously 
moilitled and adapted to our patients, as each particular case demands. 

The surgical part of our practice embraces die knife, ligature, cautery, and congela- 
tion, for (lie cure of cancers, polypi, hemorrhoids, and various ulcers and tumors, 
fissures, strictures, etc. 

Our location is near the business parts > f the ci y, pleasant and airy, adjacent to the 
promenade ground- of St. John's I'ark, and in 'ull view of the beautiful Hudson, on the 
west side of the city. 

Terms. — Consultation fee, |5. Full treatment will: board, $7 to f 15 per week. First 
prescription for home treatment, *;5: subsequent advice or letter, $]. Board, $5 to 
#10 50 per week. Transient boarders $1 per day. Special fees are charged lor special 
cases. All bills payable weekly. 

Nce« s,;-ri< s.— Each patient must provide a pair of flannel blankets, two comfortables, 
one linen sheet, two Cotton sheets, ami half a dozen towels; or these can be hired tit the 
establishment for $1 per week. 

jgf" A gymnasium is attached to the premises; and calislhenic exercises are taught 
daily in the" Lecture Hall — free to all inmates of the establishment. 



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